River Corridor Management discussion topics in the AEWS seminar.
1) Fluvial geomorphology as a tool: Establishing reference streams (Alex and others?? NOV1)
i) Is there a rational system for picking reference streams?
ii) How have reference natural communities been established in the past and have they considered
management goals associated with restoring physical form and process?
iii) If a high percentage of the “attainment” streams in Vermont are physically altered and under
adjustment, then does biological monitoring become irrelevant to river management?
2) Fluvial geomorphology as a tool: Habitat components and ecological “processes” (Dave and Jake 15
Nov)
i) Should macro-scale processes concern the environmental biologist?
ii) Do biota care about fluvial processes and geomorphology?
iii) What hydrologic and sediment regime processes are significant to different trophic levels within
aquatic communities?
iv) With respect to assessing aquatic life/habitat impairments, shouldn’t sampling designs consider
physical as well as water quality-related stressors?
3) Fluvial geomorphology as a tool: (Mary, Kate, Dani, Sam. 29 Nov)
a) Disturbance regimes
i) At what thresholds of disturbance, brought about by changes in fluvial process, would aquatic
communities undergo significant shifts or even fail?
ii) Is the degree of vertical incision being observed in many Vermont rivers, resulting in changes to
riparian system and groundwater-stream connectivity, causing significant stress to aquatic
communities?
iii) We know about fish passage, but what about lateral connectivity?
b) Thresholds of change in land use, channels, and floodplains
i) What are the thresholds of land use change, channel management, and floodplain modification that
lead to unacceptable increases in sediment and nutrient loads?
ii) At what thresholds of disturbance brought about by changes in fluvial process would aquatic
communities undergo significant shifts or even fail?
4)
The role of river management in protecting and improving water quality (No one took this one. Julia
and Morgan could. But in the interest we have to drop this one. I suggest that Julia and Morgan
work on #1 or #5 with the others indicated.)
a) Restoring sediment regimes and storage components within nutrient cycles
i) Is it true that diminishing channel/riparian roughness and floodplain function has not only increased
flood hazards, but has decreased the watershed storage of sediment and significantly increased
loadings of nutrients to Lake Champlain?
ii) How do we create a meaningful system of restoring sediment/nutrient storage at the watershed scale
and accounting for attenuation assets?
5) The role of river management in restoring stormwater impaired streams (In the interest of time, we
have to do these on one day.
a) Endogenous vs. exogenous sources of sediment (Evan and others 6 DEC. NOTE: Back as
originally scheduled
i) When should stormwater managers worry about vertical stream channel adjustments?
ii) Is gully formation and vertical channel adjustments observed in some stormwater streams producing
far more sediment than parking lots and road ditches?
b) The focus on hydrology (Julie and others?)
i) In addition to managing the peak and duration of stormwater flows, should we be concerned with
the sediment regime of the streams we are trying to treat?
ii) Should Vermont be developing sediment rating curves for streams that would help us calibrate our
management of both stormwater and sediment flows?
Remaining meeting dates and suggested assignments referenced to previous page:
25 AEWS 385
Discussion on BioScience paper: How much is enough? (To be posted)
1 NOVEMBER
RCM Topic 1 (Alex and others?)
8 NOVEMBER
Graduate student proposal presentation: Evan Fitzgerald
15 NOVEMBER
RCM Topic #2: Dave and Jake
22 NOVEMBER
Graduate student proposal presentation: Matt Bruhns
29 NOVEMBER
RCM Topic #3: Mary, Kate, Dani, and Sam
6 DECEMBER
RCM Topic #4: Evan, Julie and others?
Suggested approach for the discussions
Objectives
1. To lead a productive discussion on the topic
2. To develop a bibliography of recent (last 5 years) literature on the topic.
Suggested approach
1. Use ISI Web of Science or other search engine to query literature on the topic over the last 5 years. If
insufficient, go back 5 years more.
2. Generate an annotated bibliography of key (not all) reference found. This can be done very easily by
printing (or downloading) the abstracts for ‘hits’ found in the ISI search.
3. Select 1-2 articles for the group to read. Provide this article (ideally as a PDF) ONE WEEK PRIOR to
the scheduled discussion.
4. On the scheduled day, lead a discussion. This might include providing several (2-6?) thoughtful
questions about the papers for ucs to consider. No need to prepare a Powerpoint intro. Rather, we
should all be ready to engage in productive discussion.
5. As soon as possible, but no later than the scheduled discussion date, provide a copy of the annotated
key bibliography.